Dr. Alan Black, an American professor, was arrested last month for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. That act could send him to jail for five years. Various sites have been created to rally support for Roberts who is facing an absurdly harsh legal system and a rule against photography that can only be described as pathological.
Black was detained without a charge after he stopped and took the picture in the capital of the UAE. The case has highlighted the brutal conditions and lack of due process in the UAE. Black has been allowed no representation and was held in secret. He was allowed only two brief calls and, despite international obligations, it took two days before the UAE (or erstwhile ally) notified the American embassy of his arrest.
Black is reportedly an avid photographer and nothing more than that. One of his last pictures below was captioned “walking the streets of Abu Dhabi.” He was arrested the next day.
Despite our continued support for the UAE, our State Department in 2013 denounced the country for “arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and lengthy pretrial detentions” as well as “police and prison guard brutality.” The Black case shows vividly that such criticism is, if anything, understated.
Black was lecturing at a conference in the city and should have shown greater judgment. However, the response from the UAE is draconian and absurd.
Under article 168 of the UAE Penal Code, anyone caught taking pictures of palaces, embassies and security facilities can be sentenced to up to five years in jail and subject to a large fine. Three years ago, a tourist was given a month in jail for simply taking photos of the presidential palace.
Putting aside the law itself, the abuse of basic due process rights in the UAE belies its assertion that it is a modern and developing nation. Black is an elderly professor with a penchant for photography and a lack of inhibitions. If the UAE cannot see that, it is engaging in willful blindness.
Source: Daily Mail
As I read the NYT and Jonathan Karl’s reporting, it appears the petulant and insular Obama is not going to compromise. He is going to “use his pen” more than ever. You see, he has surrounded himself w/ cultists, like the ones we see here. He is now a very dangerous man, thinking of himself, and not the people or the country. Compromise is not part of his makeup. He’s from Chicago.
I always stunned by those who think “compromise” is a dirty word. It’s the mentality of the child or someone who has no idea how to interact with other people. But that’s the same thing really, isn’t it?
So, as a lawyer, how often do you advise your clients to compromise? And I am not sure I have seen you compromise here.
Because you know, blogs change the course of elections and human events!
Pogo, Look for a big bonus check from the Koch’s for all the paid trolling we’ve been doing.
Looks like some are moving from denial to anger. That’s healthy, as long as you continue the process. I fear too many will just get stuck in the anger phase.
” … compromise. They haven’t until now.”
Obama, the Great Compromiser: “I won.“
I’m looking forward to the “Republican Agenda” — whatever that is. It will be great to get the fundies out of church and the country clubbers off the course and see them actually go to work and then have to come to the table and … oh, no … compromise. They haven’t until now. Then we can be treated to the inevitable in-fighting between those crazy Tea Party-ers and those others Repubs with a functioning cerebral cortex.
Denial is always fascinating to observe.
issac:
… or use it to pick up strippers.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/politics/tampa-gop-strip-clubs/
isaac, I agree with mespo.
Say that over and over andover an dover.
Plus, add some vodka.
Plus go la la la with fingers in your ears.
Good luck!
issac:
Don’t fee bad, Issac. It’s a combination of low voter turnout, incumbent fatigue, and the overall anger of the Rightwing having been out of power for so long. Remember they even eat their own; ask Eric Cantor. Let’s give ’em a chance (the one they wouldn’t give Obama); let them screw it up and then have the adults come in to clean their mess. It’s like teaching your kid to drive. Sometimes you have to let them scratch the car to educate them. Hopefully they won’t wreck it or turn it into a mobile church.
mespo – excusitis is starting. Ah, how long will you keep it up?
“…that lies presented continually for six years will buy votes.”
Yet despite that, the Democrats still lost the House and Senate.
Nothing trumps the results of last night’s elections. Stupid is as stupid does. America, where the majority of voters are so vacuous that lies presented continually for six years will buy votes.
People from the US seem to believe they are World Citizens, governed by the Bill of Rights.
In the UAE, you’re less than zero, being non-Muslim and non-Arab.
This is not America.
I know the temptation is great. But why the hell would you take a picture when it says not photographs. Hubris? This guy is a loose cannon.
Professor, you have to look a lot closer to home to see the same kind of treatment of Americans:
When Taking Pictures Gets You Arrested newsweek.com/when-taking-pictures-gets-you-arrested-245625 The military police handcuffed Fraser and conducted an extensive pat-down. She says one officer threatened to “go under your bra.” The two were held for over an hour, and for the better part of that time Fraser remained in handcuffs.
Police Arrest Getty Photographer in Ferguson for Taking Pictures of Protest
Another journalist has been arrested in Ferguson, Missouri. On Monday afternoon, police there arrested Scott Olson, a photographer for Getty Images. Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly, who was one of two reporters arrested in that city last Wednesday,…..
90-Year-Old Good Samaritan Arrested for Giving Food to the Homeless http://gawker.com/90-year-old-good-samaritan-arrested-for-giving-food-to-1654632110
While the UAE’s draconian actions and harsh punsihment is unwarranted, the US is no shining beacon of photo and individual rights since 9/11.
We’ve got some conflicting info in the opening and then subsequent paragraphs. I think the professor’s last name is Black. His middle name is Roberts.
Why on earth do Westerners insist on going to to the UAE and why on earth do we allow the UAE access to our weapons? This country is not our ally. I think most people who travel to countries like the UAE from the US don’t actually realize that they have no rights there and that simply by being their they put themselves at risk. The STATE Department should warn travelers.
A wash in money, countries like the UAE buy off our politicians, our corporations and our colleges and universities. It is a disgrace.
I suppose it’s an anti-terrorism measure and as such Black most assuredly used poor judgment. Some punishment seems in order. Sometimes being an eccentric iconoclast has its down side. Wrong conduct in the wrong setting. I suspect he’ll be released after a few days served.